This blog has been on this site before, but it doesn’t do us any harm to be reminded of the traps that surround us….

Do you have an idol? You might ask whatever I’m talking about! An idol? Of course not. The very idea is ridiculous!!!   

But do you know what God classes as an idol? An idol is anything that you can’t possibly do without. Anything that you raise up in the place that God  wants from you. Something that, at least for a moment, takes first place in your heart.

    How do you feel if you find you have left your phone behind when you go out? Does something seem to be missing? Is there a feeling of panic? What exactly do you use your smart phone for anyway? Do you use it merely for messages or talking on the phone? Or do you sneak looks at some of the things on line that you wouldn’t like anyone at home to see you doing?

    Whatever your idol is, will prove to be a special kind of temptation for you when you use your phone. If you idolize sexual pleasure, you will probably be tempted to use your phone to look at pornography. Did you know that more than half of all pornography is now viewed on mobile devices like yours? This means that many people like you bought a smart phone so they could text with their friends and take pictures of their vacation, but somehow they ended up using it to look at pornography. They used this great, God-given technology to do harm instead of good.

    If you find yourself being tempted in this way, ask God to give you the strength to resist looking at those sites. Right now. If that doesn’t work, go back to the ordinary small phone that only does talking and texting until the temptation is out of your system. Remember that verse that says And now, little children, abide in Him (Jesus); that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming  (1 John 2:28).